US Navy destroyer commissioned 1956
For other ships with the same name, see
USS Barry
.
Barry
, 1971
|
History
|
United States
|
Name
| Barry
|
Namesake
| John Barry
|
Ordered
| 15 December 1952
|
Builder
| Bath Iron Works
|
Laid down
| 15 March 1954
|
Launched
| 1 October 1955
|
Sponsored by
| Mrs. Francis Rogers
|
Acquired
| 31 August 1956
|
Commissioned
| 7 September 1956
|
Decommissioned
| 5 November 1982
|
Stricken
| 31 January 1983
|
Fate
| Scrapped at Brownsville, Texas, completed by 11 February 2022
|
General characteristics
|
Class and type
| Forrest Sherman
-class
destroyer
|
Displacement
| 4,050 tons
|
Length
| 418 ft 6 in (128 m)
|
Beam
| 45 ft (13.7 m)
|
Draught
| 19 ft 6 in (5.9 m)
|
Propulsion
| 70,000 shp (52.2 MW); Geared turbines, two propellers
|
Speed
| 33
knots
(61 km/h; 38 mph)
|
Range
| 4500 nautical miles (8,300 km)
|
Complement
| 337
|
Electronic warfare
& decoys
| 5
|
Armament
| |
USS
Barry
(DD-933)
was one of eighteen
Forrest Sherman
-class
destroyers
of the
United States Navy
, and was the third US destroyer to be named for Commodore
John Barry
. Commissioned in 1954, she spent most of her career in the Caribbean, Atlantic, and Mediterranean, but also served in the
Vietnam War
, for which she earned two
battle stars
. Another notable aspect of her service was the
Cuban Missile Crisis
in 1962.
Decommissioned in 1982, she became the "Display Ship
Barry
" (DS
Barry
), a
museum ship
at the
Washington Navy Yard
in
Washington, D.C.
, in 1984.
Renovation of DS
Barry
to allow her to continue as a museum ship was deemed too expensive to justify. Furthermore, the planned construction of a fixed-span bridge to replace the
Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge
, a
swing bridge
, would have trapped her at the Washington Navy Yard permanently. Scrapping was therefore the only realistic option. An official departure ceremony for the ship took place on 17 October 2015,
[1]
and she was towed away on 7 May 2016 to be scrapped in Philadelphia.
[2]
[3]
[4]
Scrapping was completed by 11 February 2022.
[5]
Construction and commissioning
[
edit
]
Barry
was laid down on 15 March 1954 at
Bath, Maine
, by the
Bath Iron Works
Corporation; launched on 1 October 1955; sponsored by Mrs. Francis Rogers, a great-grandniece of Commodore Barry; and commissioned at the
Boston Naval Shipyard
,
Charlestown, Massachusetts
, on 7 September 1956; Commander
Isaac C. Kidd, Jr.
,in command.
[6]
1956?1959
[
edit
]
Barry
fitted out at the Boston Naval Shipyard through November, testing her new electronics, ASW gear, and gunnery systems into December. After a brief underway period in
Narragansett Bay
, she departed 3 January 1957 for
Guantanamo Bay
, Cuba, to continue her shakedown. Her training exercises were interspersed with port visits to
Kingston, Jamaica
; Culebra,
Puerto Rico
, and Santa Marta,
Colombia
, before she departed for
Colon, Panama
.
[6]
The destroyer transited the Canal Zone on 26 February and anchored at Salinas,
Ecuador
, two days later to begin the first of three "goodwill" visits to Latin American ports. After a five-day visit, she departed for
Callao, Peru
. Arriving 5 March, she hosted the United States Ambassador to
Peru
, the Honorable
Theodore C. Achilles
, and the Prefect of Callao, before sailing for
Valparaiso
, Chile, on 9 March. Three days later, Barry's Captain received official calls from the Chilean provincial governor, the Commander in Chief of the
Chilean Navy
, Vice Almirante
Francisco O'Ryan
; the American consul to Valparaiso, and the American Commandant, First Naval Zone; all on the same afternoon. After refueling operations, she cleared Valparaiso on 17 March and shaped course for
Panama
. Transiting the Canal Zone on 23 March, where she damaged a ship's-boat boom in
Gatun Locks
, she reached
Boston
on 29 March with her shakedown completed.
[6]
The destroyer underwent post-shakedown alterations and repairs at the Boston Naval Shipyard. She cleared the harbor on 15 May for a schedule of local operations off
New England
. On 27 June
Barry
departed for
Rosslare
, Ireland, and her first deployment to Europe. She visited
St. Nazaire
, France, and
Lisbon
, Portugal, before arriving at
Gibraltar
on the morning of 16 July. Assigned to the
6th Fleet
, the destroyer escorted carriers, operated as plane guard, and conducted ASW barrier patrols before returning to
Newport, Rhode Island
, in August.
[6]
On 24 September, after several weeks of post-deployment repairs and upkeep, she steamed into Narragansett Bay to assist the Norwegian freighter
Belleville
which lay aground off Seal Rock. On 26 September, she helped escort the nuclear
submarine
Seawolf
, carrying
President Dwight D. Eisenhower
, as she conducted a diving demonstration off Newport. After several months of routine operations, including
antisubmarine warfare
(ASW) exercises and plane guard operations with the
carriers
Forrestal
and
Leyte
, the destroyer spent May 1958, preparing for her next deployment to the Mediterranean.
[6]
Underway 6 June, she transited the
Straits of Gibraltar
and reached
Rhodes
on the morning of 20 June. For the next three weeks,
Barry
operated with the 6th Fleet, conducted standard ASW exercises until 14 July, when a coup, organized by young military officers, seized
Baghdad
and declared a republic in
Iraq
. The
Lebanese
government, led by a Christian president,
Camille Chamoun
, feared a similar revolution might grow out of a Pan-Arab insurgency active in the Bekaa,
Tripoli
, and
Beirut
. President Camille Chamoun, following a pro-western policy, immediately requested that the United States land troops to stabilize the situation between
Christians
,
Muslims
, and
Druze
. President Eisenhower honored the request and, fearing the spread of
Egyptian
and
Syrian
influence, ordered Marines to
Lebanon
that same day.
[6]
Barry
moored at
Salonika
, Greece, got underway the next morning, 15 July, to operate with
Saratoga
as her Task Group stood watch over the eastern Mediterranean. She remained in the region, patrolling the Lebanese coast and escorting carriers to support the Marines ashore. After upkeep alongside
Grand Canyon
at
?zmir
, Turkey, and fleet operations in
Augusta Bay, Sicily
, she sailed for home 17 September. Entering Boston Naval Shipyard 14 October,
Barry
received, after extensive alternations to her forefoot, the new bow-mounted SQS-23 sonar. Emerging from the yard 17 March, she spent the remainder of the year working up the sonar gear and carrying out tactical trials out of
NS Newport
and
Key West
. After a brief yard period at Boston in December, the destroyer conducted routine East Coast operations through May 1960.
[6]
1960?1962
[
edit
]
She cleared Newport on 6 June for a summer goodwill tour and sonar demonstration cruise to Northern Europe. Before the end of June,
Barry
visited
Portsmouth
, England, and
Kiel
, Germany, to conduct naval reviews and in-port sonar demonstrations. During July, when she visited the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Belgium, the destroyer's crew found the regional navies were eager to discuss technological and security concerns. Furthermore, as
Barry
conducted four at-sea sonar demonstrations with friendly submarines, foreign naval officers were impressed with U.S. naval technology. In August, after exercises with French and Portuguese diesel submarines, the destroyer returned to Newport on 31 August.
[6]
After local operations and a port visit to
Montreal
, Quebec, Canada,
Barry
set out for the
Virginia Capes
operation areas on 9 January 1961, for hunter-killer ASW exercises. After a brief drydock period at Boston, she ranged the eastern seaboard, conducting tactical tests on her bow sonar and participating in amphibious exercises, from Guantanamo Bay to
Halifax, Nova Scotia
. After another long yard period at the Boston Naval Shipyard, she departed for the Mediterranean with a task group formed around
Randolph
in June 1962. The destroyer operated with the 6th Fleet for the next two months, watching a steady flow of
Soviet
merchant ships sail out of the
Black Sea
towards Cuba before returning to Newport in August for post-deployment upkeep.
[6]
Cuban Missile Crisis
[
edit
]
On 16 October, the day President
John F. Kennedy
was shown aerial reconnaissance photographs of
Soviet nuclear missiles and launch sites under construction
in Cuba,
Barry
was still undergoing upkeep at Newport. On 22 October, when President Kennedy told the nation that he had initiated "as strict quarantine of all offensive military equipment under shipment to Cuba", she cleared Newport on the night of 22 October, in company with
Blandy
,
Charles S. Sperry
and
Keppler
. After rendezvous with
Essex
on the 26th, she operated as a screening vessel and plane guard. Two days later, she was detached to operate on ASW surveillance and, after taking over the task from
Bache
and
Eaton
, kept a close watch on contact
C-19
, a surfaced Soviet submarine.
Barry
, at this time well east of the "Quarantine" line, kept the
Foxtrot-class
diesel boat under surveillance until it submerged at 1814 that evening.
[6]
Barry
remained on the line, carrying out patrols, until 8 November when, during refueling operations with
Essex
, the destroyer had embarked, via highline transfer, a three-person photographic and interpreter party.
Barry
, ordered to investigate a Soviet merchantman, proceeded to her station on the 9th and sighted the merchant ship that evening. She closed to within 400 yards (370 m) on the merchantman's starboard quarter, illuminated the ship's quarter and bow, and identified her as the Soviet-registry
Metallurg Anosov
. Trailing astern,
Barry
followed the merchant ship, heading east away from the quarantine zone until morning. After dawn, the destroyer closed the merchant to "obtain photographs of deck cargo" until late morning when she shaped course for
Essex
to refuel and transfer photographic personnel.
[6]
1962?1965
[
edit
]
With her part in the "Cuban Quarantine" completed,
Barry
reached Narragansett Bay on 15 November for upkeep. She put out to sea for exercises with Essex on 30 November, ranging as far as
Santo Domingo
, in the
Dominican Republic
and
San Juan, Puerto Rico
, before returning to Newport on 21 December. For the next six months,
Barry
carried out type-training and ASW exercises before entering the Boston Naval Shipyard in June 1963 for a scheduled interim overhaul period. Later that summer
Barry
, with midshipmen embarked for at-sea training, cruised the eastern seaboard of the United States. While the midshipmen enjoyed the ports of call, including
New York
and Halifax, Nova Scotia, they also had to ride out a hurricane off
Bermuda
.
[6]
The year 1964 saw
Barry
following a similar routine of exercises. On 27 March, while bound to Puerto Rico, the destroyer received a distress call; a serious fire had broken out in the forward hold, from the stores issues ship
Antares
.
Barry'
s fire and rescue party, the first assistance to arrive, helped extinguish the blaze after an 18-hour battle. A short deployment followed, during which Barry participated in a joint
NATO
exercise with three German destroyers along the Atlantic coast.
[6]
In later July, after
Warrington
lost steering control during a highline transfer and damaged
Barry
, the destroyer spent a week in Boston Naval Shipyard. Administrative and operational preparations followed and, on 7 September 1964,
Barry
sailed for a three-and-a-half-month deployment in European and Mediterranean waters. After initial NATO exercises in the
Norwegian Sea
, during which
Barry
crossed the
Arctic Circle
on 21 September, she sailed south for antisubmarine screening with the 6th Fleet. Visits to
Valencia
and
Barcelona
, Spain;
Palma, Majorca
;
Marseilles
and
Toulon
, France; and
Naples
, Italy, provided diversion for the ship's company between U.S. and NATO operations "Teamwork", "Masterstroke", and "Steel Pike I". She returned to Newport on 18 December.
[6]
In February 1965,
Barry
ventured south to the Caribbean for the annual spring training exercises. In June, she acted as an assistant recovery ship for the
Gemini 4
space shot. The balance of the summer, highlighted by her winning the Squadron Battle Efficiency "E" for ASW, was spent preparing for the destroyer's first Western Pacific deployment. As the flagship of
Destroyer Squadron 24
(DesRon 24), the first group of
Atlantic Fleet
destroyers to deploy to Vietnam, she departed Newport with
Samuel B. Roberts
,
Charles S. Sperry
(DD-697),
Hawkins
,
Vesole
, and
Ingraham
on 29 September. The Norfolk-based
Harold J. Ellison
and
Bache
accompanied the squadron.
[6]
Vietnam War
[
edit
]
Passing through the
Panama Canal
on 6 October,
Barry
touched at
Hawaii
, for a short liberty, and
Midway
before crossing the
International Date Line
the night of 25 October. At 0100, the "calendar was advanced to the 27th and 26 October was lost forever". After visiting the Japanese ports of
Yokosuka
and
Sasebo
, she reached
Subic Bay
, in the
Philippines
, on 17 November, and commenced type training at the Tabones Naval Gunfire Support Range.
Barry
cleared Subic Bay on 30 November in company with Task Group 77.7, including
Enterprise
,
Bainbridge
, and
Samuel B. Roberts
for the
South China Sea
.
[6]
Arriving on station at "
Point Dixie
", off the coast of South
Vietnam
,
Barry
screened the nuclear-powered carrier during airstrikes against
Viet Cong
positions near
Bien Hoa
and throughout South Vietnam on 2 December. Leaving the carrier to continue these "milk-run" strikes, to allow pilots and crew to become accustomed to combat,
Barry
was ordered to the South Vietnamese coast for gunfire support duty. Steaming slowly up the
Saigon River
near
V?ng Tau
on the morning of 7 December, she was given orders to bombard Viet Cong positions several miles east of the river. For two days, her 5-inch (127 mm) guns fired on supply points and entrenchments, getting credit from Army air spotters for "excellent target coverage", before moving to the
Mekong Delta
region. Closing the beach near the coastal town of
Cho Phuoc Hai
,
Barry
continued fire missions in support of III and IV Naval Zones. After firing some 1,500 5 inch (127 mm) rounds, including opportunity fire near Ba Dong and south of Bung Tau, the destroyer rejoined TG 77.7 on 15 December.
[6]
Enterprise
, steaming off
Da Nang
at "
Point Yankee
", launched a series of strikes at North Vietnamese bridges, roads, and supply centers.
Barry
, screening the carrier as the task group skirted the
Gulf of Tonkin
, watched as
A-4 Skyhawks
and
F-4 Phantoms
struck at North Vietnamese anti-aircraft and radar defense systems. Further strikes, on 22 December, disabled the
Uong Bi
power complex, the
H?i D??ng
bridge was bombed the following day, and barges and junks were interdicted offshore. Christmas was spent at sea, during an uneasy and temporary truce, and January 1966 saw a resumption of the bombing campaign.
Barry
continued plane guard and screen duties until 17 January when the entire task group arrived at Subic Bay.
[6]
Alongside
Piedmont
, conducting repairs needed after 48 days of continuous combat operations, the destroyer's crew expected a week of upkeep at Subic followed by a liberty in
Hong Kong
. However, on the very next day,
Barry
received orders to get underway in 36 hours for "special operations" in South Vietnam. After laboring for two straight nights and a day, the destroyer, assisted by repair crews from
Piedmont
, managed to reassemble her machinery in time to steam out of Subic Bay the morning of 19 January.
[6]
Attached to
III Marine Amphibious Force
(III MAF),
Barry
was to provide naval gunfire coverage for the landing of 5,000 Marines on beaches north of
Duc Pho
in
Qu?ng Ngai Province
on 28 January. Three battalions were landed, by helicopter and landing craft, in the largest combat assault since
Inchon
during the
Korean War
. Despite light rain and rough weather, the initial stage of Operation "Double Eagle" was completed in two days. As the Marines moved inland, searching for two suspected NVA regiments, they encountered scattered Viet Cong guerrillas instead. For the next five days,
Barry
, with the cruiser
Oklahoma City
, provided fire missions for reconnaissance teams, conducted harassing fire at night, and commanded a South Vietnamese junk patrol designed to counter VC coastal infiltration.
[6]
Detached south on 5 February, to support
1st Cavalry
and
ARVN
units in Operation "Masher-White Wing",
Barry
ranged 150 miles (240 km) of coastline, firing harassing missions against Viet Cong positions. Having fired over 700 5 inch (127 mm) rounds in combat and hosting several 1st Cavalry officers aboard, the destroyer departed 15 February for a liberty in Hong Kong.
[6]
Barry
earned two battle stars for her service in the
Vietnam War
.
[6]
1966?1970
[
edit
]
Clearing the
British Crown Colony
on 25 February,
Barry
, after rendezvous with the scattered units of Destroyer Squadron (DesRon) 24, sailed for
Penang
, Malaysia. After refueling on 1 March, and the traditional Shellback ceremony south of
Singapore
, the destroyers "chopped" to U.S. Atlantic Fleet upon arrival at
Cochin
, India. A reception by Indian naval officers followed before the squadron proceeded to the
British Protectorate of Aden
. On 12 March
Barry
transited the
Suez Canal
, pushed on to Naples and Barcelona, before stopping to refuel at Gibraltar, B.C.C. After a final fuel stop at Ponta del Gada,
Azores
, the destroyers steamed into Newport, having circumnavigated the globe, on 8 April 1966.
[6]
After a month of leave and tender availability,
Barry
, and other ships of DesRon 24 conducted two weeks of torpedo firing, gunnery, and engineering training exercises. A brief series of engineering tests were conducted at Boston Naval Shipyard, preparatory to her scheduled overhaul the following January, before a midshipman training cruise and amphibious exercises in June. On 23 July
Barry
entered the Boston shipyard again to begin a gunnery evaluation project.
[6]
The project, a single-ship evaluation of the new Mk 86 fire control system, involved the installation of an optical pulse-compression radar and an experimental gun platform on the destroyer. While in drydock, shipyard personnel also completed long-delayed engineering repairs and installed a new SQS-23 sonar transducer. Departing Boston on 6 September,
Barry
spent two months operating out of Newport while Lockheed engineers conducted post-installation tests on the new fire control system. An operational evaluation followed in mid-November when the destroyer sailed to Culebra Island in the Caribbean for the shore bombardment phase of the Mk 86 evaluation. On 5 December,
Barry
departed for
Naval Station Mayport
,
Florida
, and the surface firing evaluation in the
Jacksonville
Operating Area. Despite bad weather and typical "teething" problems, the tedious process was successfully finished on 15 December.
[6]
Entering Boston Naval Shipyard on 4 January 1967 for overhaul and ASW conversion,
Barry
was decommissioned on 31 January. She received, after a fifteen-month alteration, a variable depth sonar array (VDS), an antisubmarine rocket launcher (ASROC), a new combat information center (CIC), an enclosed bridge, and completely overhauled propulsion and electrical systems. Recommissioned 19 April 1968, Commander Thomas H. Sherman in command,
Barry
conducted post-overhaul equipment shakedown and shipyard availability for the following year.
[6]
On 26 May 1969, after rearming her weapons systems, the destroyer departed for a six-week Caribbean cruise. A week of weapon calibration off
St. Croix
, and two weeks of refresher training at Guantanamo Bay was followed by a
Bar Harbor, Maine
, port visit in late July. After rendezvous with
Yorktown
ASW Group (HUK), the destroyer steamed to European waters for a four-month North Atlantic deployment. In between NATO exercises, including Arctic Circle operations, she visited
Antwerp
,
Oslo
,
Bergen
, and
Le Havre
for goodwill visits before sailing for Newport on 1 December. Three days later, appropriately while on plane guard duty,
Barry
rescued the crew of a disabled helicopter.
[6]
For the next two years, except for a brief October 1970 deployment to Greece in response to the Jordanian-PLO conflict, the destroyer operated on a routine schedule of type training, operational exercises, port visits, and annual midshipmen cruises. After a three-month regular yard period in early 1972,
Barry
conducted refresher training, gunfire support qualifications, and
ASROC
antisubmarine rocket firing tests in the Caribbean. Then, as part of a new forward deployment program,
Barry
began preparations to change her
home port
to
Athens
, Greece.
[6]
1972?1976
[
edit
]
Departing 18 August, she joined the 6th Fleet at
Rota, Spain
, before sailing into Athens on 1 September. There she joined DESRON 12 along with USS
Sampson
, USS
Richard Byrd
, USS
William Wood
, USS
Manley
, and USS
Vreeland
. Following a month-long stand down to settle crew and dependents in new housing,
Barry
began intensive Fleet operations. NATO exercises with Greek and Turkish ships; goodwill port visits to Italy, Spain, Turkey, and Greece; and ASW training, highlighted by the surfacing of a Soviet Foxtrot-class diesel submarine on 11 January, continued well into 1973.
[6]
On 3 July,
Barry
received an upgrade to her AN/SQS-23 sonar at Hellenic Shipyards, Athens. Port visits to Istanbul, Turkey and Thessaloniki, Greece. In October,
Barry
was undergoing repairs in the shipyard in Parama, Greece. All hands were recalled to the ship during the night to begin the assembly of the ship in preparation for deployment as an ASW screen ship for the Marine Landing Battalion stationed off the Suez in response to the Soviet naval buildup during the
Arab?Israeli war
. After receiving clearance to operate
Barry
steamed to join the 6th Fleet's Amphibious Task Forces. On 16 November, while on reserve station south of
Crete
, a
Marine CH-46 helicopter
from
Guadalcanal
lost engine power during a routine flight while hovering above
Barry
. With crew members aboard, the craft crashed into the destroyer's ASROC deck, rolled over the starboard side, and almost immediately sank. No one on
Barry
was injured. The ship's motor whaleboat rescued two members of the three helicopter crew.
[6]
The ship was immediately sent back to flight quarters to receive a flight surgeon by helicopter to treat the injured airman.
Barry
returned to Athens for Thanksgiving
[
citation needed
]
before resuming further contingency operations, mostly as a carrier escort, which lasted until the end of the year.
[6]
The destroyer conducted standard patrol operations in 1974.
[6]
1974 was highlighted by the commissioning of the US Naval pier in Elefsis, Greece, allowing the ship to go cold iron while in port?providing much-needed relief to the ship and the crew, which had been steaming near continuously since the ship had departed Newport.
[
citation needed
]
While anchored in Phalron Bay, in July
Barry
witnessed the Greek fleet sortie from its base at Salamis with the outbreak of hostilities in the
Cyprus Crisis
.
Barry
evacuated approximately 50 military personnel and others from Athens to Naples, Italy
[
citation needed
]
and then returned to the Aegean for a month of tense operations during the
Cyprus
crisis of August and the tracking of an active sonar contact while
Admiral James L. Holloway
, CNO, was aboard on 19 September.
[6]
After NATO Exercise "Sardinia 75" in April, including type training with Italian ships,
Barry
began preparations to leave Athens after the Greek government canceled the naval station agreement.
[6]
Departing 20 July, after 36 months of forward deployment, the destroyer steamed via
Villefranche-sur-Mer
, France;
Palma de Mallorca
and Rota, Spain, before arriving at
Philadelphia
on 20 August. The remainder of the year was spent in port.
[6]
During this period
Barry
received the Arleigh Burke award, which was presented by Admiral Isaac Kidd, first CO of
Barry
.
[
citation needed
]
Except for her participation in the 200th Navy birthday celebration in New York City, the remainder of the year was spent conducting training exercises or in port. In February 1976, after a three-week ASW training cruise off the coast of Rhode Island, she entered
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard
for her first major overhaul period since 1968.
[6]
1977?1979
[
edit
]
Barry
remained in the yard until 9 February 1977, when she departed for sea trials. She transferred her homeport to Naval Station Mayport, Florida, on 4 March and began a series of shakedown exercises, including weapons qualifications training, that culminated in her fifth deployment to the Mediterranean. She rendezvoused with the carrier
America
on 29 September, steamed to Lisbon, Portugal, and then on to Naples, Italy, before joining 6th Fleet operations. On the night of 10 November,
Barry
assisted in the successful rescue, primarily with boats and searchlights, of two crewmembers of an aircraft that had ditched on approach to
America
. After several missile exercises, ASW training, and a port visit to
Dubrovnik
,
Yugoslavia
,
Barry
finished out her year moored alongside
Yosemite
in Naples, Italy.
[6]
Following a routine visit to Villefranche-sur-Mer, France,
Barry
steamed through the
Straits of Messina
in response to an Eastern Mediterranean cruise by units of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet. Between 24 January and 3 February 1978, the destroyer shadowed the
Kiev
(TAKR) and
Moskva
(PKR) Task Group while it operated in the Levantine Basin.
Barry
observed and evaluated
Kiev
'
s underway replenishment ability, flight operations and sea-keeping characteristics before returning to Italy. Following "Exercise Sardinia 78", part of NATO's National Week XIV,
Barry
began a series of exercises off Sicily and Valencia, Spain, before departing for Mayport, Florida, on 14 April. Underway again in late June, the destroyer operated in the Mayport and
Chesapeake Bay
areas until early August when she prepared for a northern European cruise. Departing on 22 August, as part of Exercise "Common Effort",
Barry
helped demonstrate NATO's capability to replenish Europe by sea. Operation "Northern Wedding", a major NATO exercise, took place in early September and was followed by a routine port visit to
Copenhagen
, Denmark. Another NATO exercise, "BALTOP's 78", took place in the Skagerrak and Baltic Sea with units from Germany, the Netherlands, and Norway, through 3 October.
Barry
then sailed to
Helsinki
, Finland, her first visit since 1960, before port visits at
Bremen
, Germany, and
Amsterdam
, Netherlands. She also stopped at
Middlesbrough
, United Kingdom, for the Captain
James Cook
(RN) Festival, before sailing for home. After a brief stop at the Azores to refuel, the destroyer arrived at Mayport on 8 November for upkeep.
[6]
The new year began with ASW and naval gunfire support operations off
Jacksonville
and Puerto Rico until February when
Barry
underwent repair and maintenance availability in preparation for another Mediterranean deployment. In company with Battle Group 2 (BG2), the destroyer reached Gibraltar on 24 March to begin a series of port visits. On a routine cruise to "show the flag", the ship visited
Tunis
, Tunisia;
Crotone
, Italy;
Monaco
; Toulon, France; and
La Spezia
, Italy, before participating in National Week XXV with Italian naval units.
[6]
Underway on 2 June 1979, in company with
Sampson
,
Barry
sailed for the Suez Canal, transiting the waterway on 6 June en route to
Djibouti
. After a refueling stop and detaching from
Sampson
, she proceeded to
Karachi
, Pakistan, for a routine port visit. On arrival on 16 June, she flew the flag of Rear Admiral Samuel H. Packer II, Commander Middle East Forces. Due to the revolutionary events in
Iran
, the Islamic Republic having been declared 1 April,
Barry
'
s next orders deployed her into the
Persian Gulf
to support American civilians/personnel in Iran and reassure friendly countries in the region. Arriving at
Bahrain
on 23 June, she underwent repair availability before starting patrol operations in the Persian Gulf on 4 July. After a port visit to
Abu Dhabi
, United Arab Emirates, she conducted surveillance and counter-terrorism patrols in the
Straits of Hormuz
. Joined by the Sultanate of Oman Navy in these patrols and interspersed with fuel stops at
Muscat, Oman
and
Sitrah
, Bahrain,
Barry
continued routine patrols until 31 July when she departed for Djibouti. After a brief fuel stop, she then stopped in
Victoria, Seychelles
for a port visit before rendezvousing with
Sampson
and
Elmer Montgomery
on 20 August for a return to the Mediterranean. She transited the Suez Canal on 25 August and then visited Barcelona, Spain, eventually rejoining BG-2 at Rota, Spain. Underway for Mayport, Florida, the destroyer arrived home on 21 September for post-deployment leave and upkeep. The remainder of the year was spent conducting local operations out of Mayport and preparing for a scheduled overhaul the following year.
[6]
1980?1982
[
edit
]
On 17 January 1980,
Barry
'
s homeport was changed to Boston, and the following day, she entered
Bethlehem Steel Shipyard
, Boston, for a year-long regular overhaul. Once hull maintenance began, the crew moved into quarters ashore as extensive repair and overhaul of the engineering plant, electronic suite, and weapons systems were performed. The ship departed drydock on 7 August and moored alongside Pier #2 to complete the remaining repair work. Ultimately,
Barry
got underway on 31 March 1981 for her shakedown. Over the next few months, the ship ranged from Newport to the Virginia Capes, working to rejoin the fleet, spending much of that time on local operations in the Narragansett Bay area. While conducting further refresher training in the
Bahamas
and at Guantanamo Bay, operations were suddenly canceled when the ship received a message directing her to return to Newport to prepare for a Middle East deployment.
[6]
Barry
steamed for her assignment on 10 November 1981, bound for
Hamilton, Bermuda
on the first leg of her transit of the Atlantic. The ship sailed for the Azores and thence into the Mediterranean, ultimately transiting the Suez Canal on 26?27 November. Joining an
Amphibious Readiness Group
(ARG) formed around
Saipan
,
Raleigh
, and
Barnstable County
,
Barry
helped escort these ships through the
Bab el Mandeb Straits
on the 29th. Steaming separately, the destroyer touched at Djibouti for fuel on 30 November, before joining with the battle group formed around
Coral Sea
on 1 December.
[6]
Barry
remained with that unit for a week, acting as a screen and naval gunfire support ship during Operation "Bright Star '82". Following the exercise, the destroyer escorted the ARG's ships back through the Straits of Bab el Mandeb before
Barry
proceeded down to
Mombasa
, Kenya, arriving there on 21 December. She remained at Mombasa for the remainder of 1981, departing the Kenyan port on 2 January 1982 to head back to the Persian Gulf. Patrol operations in the Persian Gulf lasted until 9 March, when the destroyer headed home. She reached Newport, via
Malaga
, Spain, on 9 April.
[6]
Over the ensuing months,
Barry
'
s schedule of operations was fairly light; she provided support for the American Sail Training Association's "Tall Ships '82" race, visited
Bristol, R.I.
, and served as escort and host ship for the Italian cruiser
Duilio
during that ship's visit to New York City and Philadelphia.
[6]
As part of a destroyer replacement program, on 1 September, the ship commenced her final decommissioning stand down in Newport, and on 5 November 1982,
Barry
was decommissioned. Five days later, under tow of
Papago
, she was on her way to the Inactive Ship Facility at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, reaching that facility on 12 November 1982.
[6]
Museum ship, 1984?2015
[
edit
]
After
Barry'
s decommissioning, retired
Admiral
Arleigh Burke
advocated that a U.S. Navy display ship be moored at the
Washington Navy Yard
on the
Anacostia River
in
Washington, D.C.
The Navy chose
Barry
. She was towed from the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. She arrived at her mooring at the Washington Navy Yard (
38°52′18″N
76°59′47″W
/
38.8716°N 76.9963°W
/
38.8716; -76.9963
) on 18 November 1983. After volunteers repainted the ship and installed museum displays aboard her,
Barry
opened to the public as Display Ship
Barry
(DS
Barry
) in 1984, co-located with the
National Museum of the United States Navy
but administratively separate from the museum. She served as a distinctive attraction for visitors to the historic area, her former ASROC magazine converted to a display area and with some of her internal areas opened for visitors to tour,
[6]
including the
machine repair shop
, the crew
berthing
room, the
wardroom
, the
mess deck
, the
bridge
, and the
combat information center
(CIC).
In her early years as a
museum ship
, DS
Barry
was a popular attraction, becoming a regular stop for tour buses and school groups;
[4]
in 1990 alone, 500,000 people visited her.
[4]
She frequently hosted retirement ceremonies for U.S. Navy officers on her after deck.
[4]
She also appeared briefly in the background of many television programs; for example, she appeared in two episodes of the
CBS
television drama
NCIS
, "Dead Reflections," which aired on 12 April 2011, and "Newborn King," which aired on 13 December 2011.
[7]
[8]
Disposal
[
edit
]
The number of visitors to DS
Barry
began to decline after 1990, and by 2015 had dwindled to only about 10,000 people per year.
[4]
Although
Barry
'
s hull remained seaworthy, it had begun to deteriorate. She required about
$
2 million in repairs and renovations, an amount the U.S. Navy deemed unaffordable given the low annual number of visitors. Meanwhile, the
District of Columbia
government had made plans to replace the existing
Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge
, a
swing bridge
, with a new bridge, construction of which was to begin in October 2015. The District of Columbia considered replacing the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge with another swing bridge but found that adding a swing capability to the new bridge would add $140 million to its cost plus an additional $100,000 per year for maintenance;
[9]
instead, the city government opted for a fixed-span bridge that, when complete, would trap
Barry
in the Anacostia River.
[4]
For all these reasons, the U.S. Navy decided to close DS
Barry
and tow her away for scrapping before construction of the new bridge advanced to the point of trapping her in the Anacostia River.
[4]
During the summer of 2015, representatives of the U.S. Navy's
Naval History and Heritage Command
, followed by representatives of approved non-profit museum ships, visited
Barry
and removed artifacts from her for display elsewhere, with communications gear being the most popular items.
[10]
A formal departure ceremony for the ship hosted by
Naval Support Activity Washington
, attended by more than 50 former
Barry
crew members and featuring a speech by retired
Rear Admiral
Sam Cox, director of the Naval History and Heritage Command, took place on 17 October 2015 in the
Cold War
gallery at the Washington Navy Yard.
[1]
[10]
On 7 May 2016, DS
Barry
had her masts cut down and, with a mixed caretaker crew of U.S. Navy and towing company personnel aboard was towed from the Washington Navy Yard by the commercial
tugs
Emily Ann
,
Meagan Ann
, and
Thomas D. Witte
. As the ship was towed down the Anacostia River to the
Potomac River
, a Washington, D.C.,
fireboat
saluted her with a water cannon display, and
Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling
played the U.S. Navy anthem "
Anchors Aweigh
" over loudspeakers ashore.
Barry
was to make a 50-hour journey via the Potomac River,
Chesapeake Bay
,
Chesapeake and Delaware Canal
, and
Delaware River
to the inactive ship facility at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, from which she had been towed to Washington in 1983. There she would be mothballed and sold for scrapping.
[2]
[11]
Scrapping was completed by 11 February 2022.
[5]
Awards
[
edit
]
- Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
, 17 July 1958 to 25 July 1958,
1958 Lebanon crisis
[12]
- Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
, 29 July 1958 to 1 August 1958, Lebanon
[12]
- Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
, 11 August 1958 to 20 August 1958, Lebanon
[12]
- Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
, 27 August 1958 to 31 August 1958, Lebanon
[12]
- National Defense Service Medal
, 1 January 1961 to 14 August 1974
- Navy Expeditionary Medal
, 1 December 1961 to 16 December 1961, Cuba
[12]
- Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
, 24 October 1962 to 1 November 1962,
Cuban Missile Crisis
[12]
- Vietnam Service Medal
, 27 November 1965 to 30 December 1965
[12]
- Republic of
Vietnam Campaign Medal
, 1 December 1965 to 31 December 1965
[12]
- Meritorious Unit Commendation
, 7 October 1970 to 18 October 1970,
[12]
Jordanian-PLO conflict
Gallery
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Morris, Tyrell K. (17 October 2015).
"Navy Bids Farewell to Display Ship Barry"
. US Navy
. Retrieved
7 May
2016
.
- ^
a
b
Copper, Kyle (6 May 2016).
"Museum ship at Navy Yard leaving the nation's capital"
.
WTOP
. Retrieved
6 May
2016
.
- ^
Eckstein, Megan (25 February 2015).
"Washington Navy Yard to Dismantle Display Ship Barry By Next Summer, No Plans for Replacement"
.
United States Naval Institute
. Retrieved
26 February
2015
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Dingfelder, Sadie (10 September 2015).
"Bidding farewell to the Barry"
.
The Washington Post
. Retrieved
7 May
2016
.
- ^
a
b
Naval Vessel Register|
http://www.nvr.navy.mil/SHIPDETAILS/SHIPSDETAIL_DD_933.HTML
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
q
r
s
t
u
v
w
x
y
z
aa
ab
ac
ad
ae
af
ag
ah
ai
aj
ak
al
am
an
ao
ap
aq
ar
as
at
"Barry III (DD-933) 1956?1982"
.
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
.
Navy Department
,
Naval History and Heritage Command
. 10 February 2004
. Retrieved
7 May
2016
.
- ^
NCIS,
Dead Reflections
aired 12 April 2011
- ^
NCIS,
Newborn King
, aired on 13 December 2011.
- ^
Anacostia River Navigation Evaluation Final Report
(PDF)
(Report). District Department of Transportation. 27 February 2014.
- ^
a
b
Eckstein, Megan (19 October 2015).
"Washington Navy Yard Says Goodbye to Display Ship Barry"
. USNI News
. Retrieved
7 May
2016
.
- ^
Ruanne, Michael E., "'Bye Barry': Washington bids farewell to an old destroyer," washingtonpost.com, May 7, 2016, 4:24 p.m. EDT.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
"Unit Awards Query"
. United States Navy. Archived from
the original
on 14 October 2004
. Retrieved
7 May
2016
.
External links
[
edit
]